ere to be seen that night.

"The next day passed slowly. The sun was hot; but toward evening the
lieutenant gave permission for the men to bathe; but warned us that no
man must go far from the boats, because there might be sharks about.
However, we didn't see none, and we enjoyed the dip, and were in better
humor still when we found that a light breeze was springing up. It
might have been about midnight when the men on watch made out a light to
seaward, and we weren't long in getting up our grapnels and sitting our
oars. In half an hour we were on board, and were soon sailing away from
the island again.

"The next night in we came again, and I saw that the third lieutenant's
plan was going to be adopted; in fact, I guessed so before; for the sail
makers had been at work with two light ropes making a rope ladder, and
the ship's smith had got some empty shells on deck, and had made a shift
to screw some iron eyes into them for fixing ropes to. The gun was taken
out of the pinnace and a little mortar fixed in her, and half a dozen
ropes, each a hundred fathoms long, had knots put in them every two
feet.

"The launch and the two cutters were lowered as well as the pinnace this
time, and the crews were armed with cutlass and pistol. I went with them
as before, as I should be wanted to guide them when they got near the
village. It was a bright starlight night without haze, so that when we
got close we could make out the outline of the cliffs, and could see the
thick wood growing on the top. When we got within about a hundred yards
of the cliffs the boat stopped rowing.

"'Don't use more powder than you can help, gunner,' Mr. Earnshaw said.
'In the first place, we don't want to do more than carry out the rope
to its full length; in the next place, we don't want to make more noise
than we can help. What wind there is is fortunately blowing seaward,
and being so close under the cliff the sound will be echoed back. At the
same time the less noise the better.'

"'I will begin with very little, sir. If the ball don't go to the top of
the cliff I shall put a trifle more into the gun next time; it's better
to make a mistake on the right side.'

"A small quantity of powder was put in the mortar, which was only a four
inch one. Then a wad was put in, and a shell with one of the knotted
ropes fastened to it dropped in the top. The rope had been coiled in a
tub so as to run out easily. The gunner applied the match. There was a
dul